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• phoebe
  phoebe

  noun

  any of several small American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, especially S. phoebe, of eastern North America.
• Phoebe
  Phoebe

  noun

  a Titan, daughter of Uranus and Gaia and mother of Leto, later identified with Artemis and with the Roman goddess Diana.

phoebe

¹ American  

[fee-bee] / ˈfi bi /

noun

• phoebes
  plural

1. any of several small American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, especially S. phoebe, of eastern North America.

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Phoebe ² American  

[fee-bee] / ˈfi bi /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a Titan, daughter of Uranus and Gaia and mother of Leto, later identified with Artemis and with the Roman goddess Diana.

2. Astronomy. one of the moons of Saturn.

3. Literary. the moon personified.

4. a female given name.

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Phoebe ¹ British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. classical myth a Titaness, who later became identified with Artemis (Diana) as goddess of the moon

2. poetic a personification of the moon

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Phoebe ² British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. the outermost satellite of the planet Saturn. It has retrograde motion and a dark surface

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phoebe ³ British  

/ ˈfiːbɪ /

noun

1. any of several greyish-brown North American flycatchers of the genus Sayornis, such as S. phoebe ( eastern phoebe )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• phoebes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of phoebe¹

1690–1700, imitative; spelling by influence of Phoebe

Origin of Phoebe²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Phebe, Phebee, from Latin Phoebē, from Greek Phoíbē, feminine of phoîbos “shining, radiant, bright”; see Phoebus ( def. ) 

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Explanation

Phoebes are small songbirds that belong to the tyrant flycatcher family. They are found in North America, and most phoebes have grayish-brown feathers and short, pointed bills they use to catch insects. Birds in the tyrant flycatcher family are so called because they are surprisingly territorial for such small birds. Phoebes boldly defend their hunting perches and nesting sites, chasing away intruders, calling loudly and repeatedly to warn rivals, and dive-bombing predators. Phoebes perch on fence posts, branches, or ledges, wagging their tails and watching for flying insects to eat. They make short, darting flights to catch them. Their name comes from their raspy, two-note call, which sounds like "fee-bee," and was originally spelled phebe.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phoebe Phoebe phoebes

They also recognized acorn woodpeckers, a California towhee, dozens of turkey vultures circling overhead, a dark-eyed junco, a mockingbird, an Anna’s hummingbird and a black phoebe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2023

Every year for 35 years, we’ve had an eastern phoebe nest under the eaves of our back porch.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

One day last spring when I went to check on her, I found three raw and naked eastern phoebe nestlings tossed onto the porch floor.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

It was, she explained from behind a pair of binoculars, her first sighting of a bird called a black phoebe, which normally ranges no closer to Puget Sound than Southern Oregon.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 2, 2017

On an apple bough, the phoebe teeters and wags its tail and says, “Phoebe, phoe-bee!”

From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White

Phoebe McMahon, a senior who expects to graduate this fall, began attending meetings with the Tulane Recovery Community when she decided to get sober.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

He’s half of a writer power couple with Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, his partner of almost 10 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Customer Phoebe Ma, 24, said that when her mother's generation was young, China "wasn't so developed" and people were initially familiar with only a handful of luxury brands.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

Goldsmith, a children's nurse and health visitor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said that when Phoebe was born four years ago, she realised within days that something was wrong.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Amen,” said Homer Hindman and Phoebe Tolbert and then a chorus of folks.

From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

“Eastern phoebes have to regroup and find safer nesting sites,” Mulvihill said, “preferably forested settings near streams, where they breed naturally.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Eastern phoebes are an early nesting species and may have traditionally had their first brood before competition from later-nesting house sparrows, he explained.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Before eastern phoebes lived so close to humans, they built their nests on cliffs.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Cactus wrens, curve-billed thrashers, black phoebes, Lucifer hummingbirds and greater roadrunners are among the year-round avian inhabitants.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2016

When not domesticated, as these birds are rapidly becoming, the phoebes dearly love a cool, wet woodland retreat.

From Bird Neighbors by Neltje Blanchan

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